Fruit Ninja
by Starlight Sprite
Summary: Oneshot. Oliver finds creative new ways to practice sword fighting. Felicity is not amused. Set during Season 3. No pairings, mild spoilers. My first time writing for Arrow, so please review!


"Oliver! Is everything ok? What on earth happened here!?"

"I've been practicing sword fighting," Oliver said nonchalantly.

Felicity stared at the putrid, pulpy slime covering the floor of the Arrow cave with a mixture of revulsion and horror. Partly, she was hoping it wouldn't get on her new heels, which were her favorite shade of coral pink. But, mostly, she was concerned that someone or something had been seriously injured. Because it definitely looked like the alien blood from that B-rated sci-fi horror movie she'd watched in third grade that had given her nightmares. But that didn't even make sense because that was only a movie, and anyway not even Oliver would have an alien in his basement, and here she was spiraling again…

"What _is_ it?" she managed, trying not to breathe through her nose.

"Rotten cantaloupe, mostly," came Roy's voice from above her. She hadn't noticed him there, but now she saw he and Diggle were sitting on the ledge that encircled the room, with a large bucket between them.

She took a surprised breath, and almost gagged. "Rotten cantaloupe? _Why_?"

"Thea bought a huge load of melons before Merlyn took us to Lian Yu to train," Oliver explained. "She's always had a slightly unhealthy obsession with melons. But, by the time we got back, they'd gone bad."

"I still don't get why they're all over our floor."

"As you know, I've been practicing sword moves in thin air," Oliver continued. "However, after a while, I realized I needed more of a challenge – something to target. Preferably something moving. And cuttable."

"So you've been using the floor as a cutting board?"

"Not exactly," Roy began in that serious way he had. "Dig and I have been throwing them."

" _Throwing_ them?"

"Yeah. Oliver chops them up on the way down."

Felicity shook her head, still needing time to process. "Dig! Really? You're doing this too?"

"Hey, it's one of the less dangerous ways to practice weapon training," Diggle said with a shrug and a wry smirk. "Even for Oliver Queen."

"I'm right here, Diggle," Oliver huffed.

"See, here, it's like this," Roy said, suddenly reaching into the bucket. Before Felicity had time to react, the sphere was already flying down from the ledge towards her. A small shriek escaped her as she cringed, but Oliver intercepted it, swinging his blade dizzyingly fast. A spray of foul-smelling liquid hit her front as the pieces to the melon hit the floor with a sickening splat. Oliver turned to her, obviously looking for approval.

She closed her eyes, standing still for a second. "So…fruit ninja," she said, still in shock.

Oliver blinked. "What?" he asked.

"Fruit ninja," she repeated. "It's a game. Like a computer game."

"I've never heard of that," Oliver said, eyebrow raised.

"It came out while you were on the island," she said. "It's like this, only not real life, obviously. There's all this flying fruit, and you try to slice it up? Only not the bombs. You don't want to slice the bombs."

"Bombs?" Oliver said, curiosity piqued. "Now _that_ would make this challenging…"

"No," she said immediately, "Absolutely not."

Oliver sighed, with one of his small grins to show he was teasing. "Alright," he said. "I guess, we can keep doing it the usual way." He turned, lifting his sword, ready for more.

"Wait!" Felicity interrupted with a strangled squeak. Everyone looked at her. "I'm going to go right over there first," she said, pointing to her computer on the opposite end of the room. She took a couple of steps - and nearly wiped out in a puddle of goo.

"You know," she said as she awkwardly regained her footing and as much dignity as she had left. So much for keeping her heels clean. "I liked fruit ninja better when it was a game. Only me and a computer. I like computers. I understand computers."

The three of them laughed as Felicity stalked back to her chair. She looked over at them as she settled into her seat. Diggle and Roy were reaching into the bucket, Oliver was poised for another swing, and she found herself smiling a half smile in spite of herself.

No, she didn't always understand them. But she wouldn't have her ninjas any other way.


End file.
